UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools

Creating safe, supportive spaces for students impacted by trauma is essential to their growth and learning. Students with foster care involvement are particularly affected by trauma that can impact their behavior and learning. The MONARCH Room? initiative, implemented across 12 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools, provides trauma-informed support, helping students stay engaged in the classroom rather than facing suspension. The MONARCH Room? research team, a part of our CA MTSS Research Consortium, worked with LAUSD and Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS) to implement this program, train school staff, and evaluate the program. Learn more about their findings in our new report: https://lnkd.in/gvtxun3u #TraumaInformedEducation #MONARCHRoom #StudentSupport #CAEducation #LASchools #CAEd #SupportBlackStudents #CAMTSS #FosterCareSupport #FosterCareStudents #FosterYouth #FosterStudents #SchoolDispline #CAMTSS #TraumaResponsiveSchools #LAUSDSupport #lausdschools #InclusiveSchools #EducationForAll

At CTS, we remain dedicated to advancing equity in education and supporting vulnerable student communities. Together, we strive for a future where all students can thrive with dignity and opportunity. #EquityInEducation #EducationEquity #SupportOurStudents #EducationalJustice #EmpowerAllStudents #DignityInLearning #FutureOfEducation #InclusiveEducation #StudentsFirst #eduresearch #uclaresearch

The UCLA Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles is hosting ‘A Civil Rights Agenda for California’s Next Quarter Century: An Education Research and Policy Briefing’ on Dec. 5th, 2024 in Sacramento, CA. CTS CA Educator Diversity Project Director, Dr. Kai Mathews, will share our recent research on ‘Diversifying the Teacher Pipeline’. This event will also be live-streamed for virtual attendees. The event is open to the public. Register now to attend in-person or virtually at https://lnkd.in/gUeztWSR #EducatorDiversity #CivilRightsProject #UCLACivilRightsProject #TeachersOfColor

HAPPY HALLOWEEN from the CTS team! ???????? We had a blast celebrating Halloween with our team this year at our monthly staff meeting! From princesses to lifeguards to flight attendants to bunnies, our Halloween costume contest brought out the creativity and fun in everyone. A big thank you to our team members for participating and making this a memorable Halloween! Which costume is your favorite????

CTS Senior Project Scientist Angela James will share her expertise as a panelist at the California Youth Justice Summit next Tuesday, November 5! ??She will discuss her work with the California Institute on Law, Neuroscience, and Education to disrupt California's school-to-prison pipeline. As a part of the Institute, Dr. James is developing a survey to assess educational services provided by juvenile court schools across the state. The survey seeks to identify these institutions' challenges, contributing to the broader goal of disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline. The California Institute on Law, Neuroscience, and Education is a groundbreaking initiative established by the California State Legislature in 2021. A University of California multi-campus collaboration between UCLA’s School of Education & Information Studies, UC Law SF, and UCSF Medical School, this initiative aims to disrupt the school to prison pipeline in California by addressing literacy outcomes in school settings through a collaborative multistakeholder and multidisciplinary approach, ultimately reducing the number of young individuals who become justice-involved. The Summit will bring together juvenile justice partners for relationship-building, learning, and envisioning the future of juvenile justice in California. To register, visit https://cvent.me/y5n5Pq

CTS Executive Director Joseph Bishop, Ph.D. and CTS Doctoral Candidate & Researcher Hui Huang will present new research on alternative education at the RAPSA (Reaching At-Promise Students Association) pre-conference on Wednesday, November 6 in Coronado, CA. Their presentation, “Finding the Common Threads for Justice: Learning from New Research Centered on Youth at Promise,” will highlight preliminary research on alternative education and highly mobile youth. The RAPSA pre-conference includes three other sessions with: ??UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent: Leveraging the Opportunity of Adolescence to Support At-Promise Students ??Brookings Metro: Leveraging Federal Infrastructure Spending to Increase Economic Opportunity for Young Adults ??LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network The annual RAPSA Forum provides a collaborative space for educational leaders, policymakers, and practitioners to learn and share leading-edge efforts to achieve equitable outcomes for At-Promise students and Opportunity Youth. For more information on RAPSA pre-conference tickets, visit https://forum.rapsa.org/ #AlternativeEducation #HighlyMobileYouth #AtPromiseStudents #AtPromiseYouth

As pandemic-era resources dwindle, will California schools be able to maintain its gains in student test scores, or are we facing a risk of regression? CTS Faculty Co-Director Tyrone Howard addresses this issue in a recent Los Angeles Times article. He acknowledges the progress made in state SBAC test scores across diverse groups of students, but cautions that students are still not proficient. With the loss of pandemic-era funding and ongoing challenges like declining enrollment and absenteeism, Howard raises a critical question: Can schools continue this growth, or will we see a setback without the necessary resources? Read the full article at: https://lnkd.in/gPjye_pu. #EducationRecovery #StudentGrowth #ResourcesForSchools #AcademicEquity #StudentSuccess #EducationChallenges #SupportingStudents #EducationEquity #eduresearch #uclaresearch #SBAC #SmarterBalancedAssessment #SmarterBalanced

Are you part of a school or district looking to address exclusionary discipline? Read our new REACH Network report to see how other California schools have started implementing alternatives to discipline. The report includes recommendations that can inform similar efforts at other schools. The 10 school sites in our Network have found success by prioritizing: ?? restorative practices ?? staff professional development ?? data-driven decision-making ?? family and community engagement ?? equity and cultural responsiveness Read the full report at https://lnkd.in/gCy262Su #EducationalEquity #DisciplineDisparities #InclusiveSchools #EducationForAll #StudentSupport #SchoolDisciplineReform #EquityInEducation #CaliforniaSchools #CAeducation #CAed #CAschools #EducationOpportunity #EqualEducationOpportunity #uclaresearch #eduresearch

Los Angeles Unified School District's Black Student Achievement Plan, designed to provide targeted support for struggling Black students, is under attack. A federal civil rights complaint from a Virginia conservative group has prompted LAUSD to eliminate race as a factor in determining which children will be helped, undermining the original design and purpose of the plan. This legal action reflects a broader conservative strategy impacting schools, intensifying culture-war divisions in school districts nationwide. Efforts under this agenda aim to limit teaching about race and Black experiences, eliminate LGBTQ+ content from school libraries and curricula, and mandate that schools notify parents if a student wishes to change their name, pronouns, or gender presentation, undermining diversity, inclusion, and overall educational equity for students. Supporters of BSAP are outraged and demand the program be maintained in its original form. Tyrone Howard, along with teachers, BSAP staff, and high school students, discussed the benefits and supports that BSAP provides to Black youth. Read more in the Los Angeles Times article: https://lnkd.in/gBF3NjMU. Howard Blume UCLA School of Education and Information Studies #BSAP #BlackStudentAchievement #restorativejustice #Blackstudents #Blackyouth #edequity #educationequity

CTS Faculty Co-Director Lucrecia Santiba?ez was recently quoted in a CalMatters article discussing newly released K-12 Smarter Balanced reading and math scores in California. The number of students meeting standards still remains below pre-pandemic levels, but nearly all student groups are showing progress. Dr. Santiba?ez underscores the importance of maintaining optimism, particularly given the varied impacts of the pandemic on different student demographics, and celebrates the progress made, especially among Black, Latinx, and low-income students. Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gJY9EFJg #EquityEducation #EquityInSchools #K12Education #EducationDiversity #CASchools #CAEducation #CAed #eduresearch #uclaresearch